Fetch Your Copy The Victory Garden Devised By Rhys Bowen Offered As Publication
been on a bit of a kick when it comes to fiction set in WWI lately, so I was happy to pick this up at my local library.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that good of a book,
My main problem with this book is that it just wasn't that compelling, The romance was tepid and the conflicts are generally solved within the same chapter in which they're introduced, only to have yet another "major conflict" to be introduced in another couple of chapters to be solved in the same manner.
It was tedious.
My recommendation: save yourself some time and just read the synopsis that is on the inside of the book jacket.
It literally gives away every major plot point to the very end, That isn't the author's fault, but if you've skimmed over that, you don't need to read the book, This book is set during WWII, it centres on Emily Brice who is twenty and feeling imprisoned by her parents.
Her mother is determined that Emily will marry well, preferable to a titled man, However, with the war on and so much loss, including her own brother Freddie, gentlemen are in very short supply.
When Emily turns twentyone she decides to forge her own path and do something useful with her life, like her best friend Charissa who is a nurse in the battlefields of France.
Unlucky with nursing, Emily finds herself signing up for the Women's Land Army and finding strengths she never knew she had.
Through all of this Emily finds herself enamoured with a young Australian fighter pilot, a person of whom her parents would never approve.
The book had tendencies to be a bit Enid Blyton in parts but overall and enjoyable story with some great characters.
I stopped reading the review pitch once I saw WWI in the description, which was basically the first line in the summary.
I have read a lot of stand alone novels by Bowen and have been impressed with her writing and historical research.
Her stand alone books have mostly been set in WWII, but WWI
is truly my favorite period in historical fiction, so seeing that this book was set during that time earned this book and instant and enthusiastic, yes from me.
I have consistently enjoyed reading Bowens books, whether they are one of her historical mysteries or her stand alone novels.
She as an incredible gift for writing vastly different content and managing to keep all of her heroines fresh and interesting.
This novel started toward the end of the war rather than the beginning which caught me off guard.
So many writers tend to start at the beginning of the war and pace their story in time with the war.
While it caught me off guard, it was nice to not relive the entire war beginning to end, This allowed the audience to focus mostly on Emilys story rather than getting carried away in the vastness of the period.
I know when I read a WWI novel I inevitably end up down a rabbit hole researching the war, and with this book picking up with the war already established, help keep me on track with the characters and story.
I was most intrigued by the land girls angle, That was one aspect that I wasnt familiar with and was eager to learn more about, It provided a new historical interest for me and I was eager to continue reading about it, I enjoyed Emilys character and the romantic bits with Robbie, but the story over all lacked the heavy hitting emotional impact that I was expecting in a book with this setting and content.
It was a pleasure to read and I eagerly picked up this book whenever the opportunity arose, but I just didnt feel like it reached above and beyond the average novel of the same period.
In some ways I was grateful for that, I wasnt in the mood for an overly heavy, emotional novel, but at the same time I almost expect to be taken on a roller coaster of emotions.
In the end, Bowens writing and experience writing believable stories with memorable characters and romance mixed in, made me give this book a solid four.
What can I say, Im a sucker for the WWI era and all the romantic drama one expects from books in this period!
sitelinkSee my full review here first appeared on sitelinkThe Bent Bookworm!
The Victory Garden is a poignant, sweet book that takes place at the end of WWI in England.
Emily is just turning twentyone as the book starts, and she at last has the legal standing to shake off her overprotective parents and really DO something for the war effort.
Having already lost her brother, she feels the need to do something to honor him,
“I want to be useful, I want to do my bit, so that Freddies death was somehow not in vain, ”
In the process of finding how she is going to do her bit, she naturally meets a dashing young pilot Australian! Gasp!, falls in love, her lover dies a hero, and it turns out shes pregnant.
All this is revealed in the blurb, so I picked it up thinking that it had to be more than just a romance sincewell, you know.
Hard to have a romance when one party is deceased, however heroically,
The “more” turns out to be the massive amount of growth and experience Emily goes through in less than a year.
She becomes a “land girl,” something I was not familiar with at all, and I think many Americans would be there with me.
She stands up to her parents, who despite being protective are just as much about their own egos as they are about shielding her from heartbreak.
She takes a chance on love, knowing that it will most likely end in heartbreak, In the process, she discovers the power of both independence and female friendships, Britain lost a large majority of their fighting age men in WWI, something I hadnt honestly given much thought, The story really shows just how that loss changed or at least how it began to change societal roles for both genders.
The Victory Garden isnt particular heavy on either history or romance, In fact, there could have been less of a romance and the story would have worked just as well, I knew going in that Emilys dashing aviator was going to pass, as so many of them did at that time, so I went in willing myself to not get too invested.
The history was interesting but not overwhelming in detail,
As far as the actual garden, there was SOME emphasis on it in the last half of the book, and a little tiny bit of a mystery involving an old journal Emily finds, but it was verywell, I wish had been more about the herbs and the garden.
It seems like the title is a bit of a misnomer,
Overall,/stars. I closed the book feeling a little sad, but hopeful for Emilys future with her child,
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!
sitelinkBlog sitelinkTwitter sitelinkBloglovin sitelinkInstagram sitelink I love Rhys Bowens books, especially the recent stand alone historical fiction such as In Farleighs Field and the Tuscan Child.
Therefore, it pains me to write this review, I found Victory Garden to be predictable, forced, and unrealistic, With few exceptions, I found the characters two dimensional, like they were playing a stereotyped role, I did enjoy the main character Emily, but even she fell into a predictable and disappointing pattern, I also think the title was misleading, Overall, I was very disappointed in a book I was extremely excited to read, Charming Story
I very much enjoyed this book, The Victory Garden was set during WWI, The main character Emily was an exceptionally strong character,
More review coming, . . Set in, towards the end of "the war to end all wars" the story tells of the trials and tribulations ofyear old Emily Bryce.
She has been kept close at home by her parents who are still grieving the loss of their son, Emily's brother Freddie.
The moment she comes of age Emily leaves her home, becomes engaged to an Australian fighter pilot and joins the Land Army.
All very brave moves! Of course things do not turn out the way she hopes, but Emily ends up making life long friends and finding her own path.
This is a very entertaining book featuring a number of engaging characters and a good story, It never reaches any great depths but does give a fair representation of what the people who stayed at home went through during the First War.
Set in a rural area, the characters in this book do not endure bombs, but they do live through the deprivations of war and also the huge losses of young men who went away and ever came back.
All of them were of course brothers, sons, husbands and sweethearts of the women who were left behind to try and keep the country going as best they could.
An enjoyable read with plenty of historical fact mixed in with the fiction, Recommended if this is your genre,
My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, sitelink wordpress. com
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Rhys Bowen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, who has published a range of award winning historical fiction novels.
The Victory Garden, published in, is her latest a standalone historical fiction title, Set in the last year of World War I, it is the story of a young woman who experiences love, loss, duty, commitment and independence, during a time of great uncertainty.
It is a compelling period piece that demanded my undivided attention from the opening page, to the final word,
The Victory Garden is a stunning portrait of the final stages of the Great War, that places an emphasis on relations on the home front.
It tells the story of a determined young woman, Emily Bryce, who wants to break free from the stiff clutches of her sheltered home and contribute to the war effort.
When Emily encounters a charismatic Australian pilot, her life is turned upside down, She embraces her new independence and she falls desperately in love with the dashing Australian, Much to ire of her parents, who would rather Emily settle for a man close to home, Emily falls into the arms of her brave pilot.
Emily accepts his proposal, just as he is shipped off for another death defying mission in the air, To keep her mind off the danger faced by her beloved, Emily throws all her energy into her work as a land girl.
Emilys role as a fully fledged land girl sees her posted to the stately home of Lady Charlton on a substantial estate.
In the run down cottage on the estate grounds that Emily calls home, she makes a startling discovery, A legacy left by those who once resided in the cottage lives on, Emily is inspired to carry on their work, as a herbalist, It is a welcome distraction for Emily, especially when she discovers some shocking news about her Australian airman, Nursing a broken heart, Emily must pick up the pieces of her broken life, as she is about to face the biggest battle she has even known alone.
The Victory Garden proved to be a truly delightful piece of historical fiction, I do love stories about the Great War, and Bowens book was a slight departure from the usual books I have read set in this time period.
Bowen has based The Victory Garden in the latter stages of the war, a different move that I appreciated very much.
It provided an alternative birds eye view of the war, with much emphasis placed on the impact of the Great War on the home front.
Bowen focuses much of her book on the impact of the loss of loved ones had on those left behind.
The devastating emotions experienced by mothers, fathers, grandmothers, siblings, loved ones and friends, Everyone was stretched to their emotional limit and Bowen does an excellent job of depicting the very heart of the feelings expressed by those left behind.
As this is a home front based novel, there is a strong emphasis on the work of the hardworking division known as the Land Army.
These were able bodied women from all walks of life, across Britain, who bravely volunteered to do their bit for their country.
Bowen outlines the huge dent left by the men who went away to fight in the war, The author also looks at the high death rate, As a result, a large gap was felt in the farming and agricultural areas of work, Emily, the lead, answers to this call, boldly defying her family who would rather she not work at all following the loss of their only son.
This area of the book highlights the class differences and expectations that were prevalent at this time, Emilys parents are absolutely horrified, rather than proud of their daughters work for the war,
Emily is an appealing lead who goes through quite a transformation as the book progresses, I saw The Victory Garden as an enlightening coming of age experience, Emily is naive and sheltered to begin with, but she grows in independence as the story unfolds, I enjoyed the romance and addition of the cheeky Australian airman, Robbie, This was a genuine and sweet romance,
The relationships between Emily and her many of the subsidiary characters form a significant portion of the narrative.
We witness a strong bond, told mostly through letters, between Emily and her best friend Clarissa, There is also a focus on the often restrictive relations between Emily and her parents, Then there are the strong bonds formed between Emily and her fellow land army workmates, Finally, there is a lovely friendship forged between Emily and the aged Lady Charlton, the owner of the Devonshire based estate.
A side thread involving the work of a herbalist and taming a once lost herb garden, thanks to a journal unearthed by Emily, provides a nice offset to the war experiences.
Emily really comes into her own through this experience and I appreciated following her journey, Along the way I learnt about the medicinal properties and the power herbs have to save lives, Bowen also outlines the pitfalls of this alternative form of medicine, through the persecution and lack of understanding of a female herbalist.
I really enjoyed my first experience of the work Rhys Bowen, who is a world renowned author, I am very tempted to select more of Bowens work in the future, based on my full appreciation of The Victory Garden.
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